Michael Kocáb

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Prague at the end of the 14th century: King Wenceslas, his brother Sigismund, the Archbishop of Prague Zbynek and three popes are locked in a power struggle. All lay claim to influence over the Holy See. Jan Hus, a master of Charles University and preacher, feels partly responsible for the fate of the divided church and its faithful, for whom it serves as a role model. He thus attracts the resentment of the powerful. "Jan Hus" is the story of a man who, because of his convictions, faced death in the battle between the opinions and ambitions of ecclesiastical and secular authorities.

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From the behavior, discourse, and appearance of individual actors, Vachek composes, in the form of a mosaic, a broad and many-layered film-argument about Czechoslovak democracy in the period of its rebirth, all administered with the director’s ini­mitable point of view.

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The story begins in 1984 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, few years before the end of Communist era. The band Pražský výběr (Prague's selection) has just received the news thier 5-year ban has expired and they are alowed to perform once again. This half fantasy half document about the band would draw the atmosphere of middle european late Communist era and the eufory of it's end.

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In the film, the creative forces of personalities from three spheres of art collide. The subtitle "The Game of Love and Hate" refers to the motivation of an old Czech medieval satire, the theme belongs to Antonín Přidal, an expert on this subject. His collaboration with Juraj Herz created a collage of past and present, an updated, sharp satire and a parable about the clash of human qualities that could not but end up in the vault. The music of the Prague Selection - Michael Kocáb and Michal Pavlíček - also contributed to the film's offensive provocativeness - the film was one of the reasons for their complete move to the underground. The dancing chorus of medieval citizens resembles more of a jumble of long-haired maniacs, the edge of a contemporary dump intrudes into the space of a medieval marketplace, and the characters oscillate between the past and the present, whether in their appearance, symbolism or behaviour.

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Emil (Vaclav Chalupa as a teen, Ondrej Vetchy as an adult) has been naughty, and his family is at a loss about what to do with him. He's been dallying with the family maid. They decide to ship him off to spend time with his uncle Ernst Michel Piccoli), who married his family maid. The boy has a good relationship with his uncle, and a touching picture of Czech family life just at the advent of World War II emerges. Since Emil and Ernst are both Jewish, they are eventually carted away by the Nazis.

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The Slippers of Happiness is another film made by the Slovak Film Production in co-production with West German companies based on classic world fairy tales. After Slovak folk tales [The Greatest Peck in the World, Salt Over Gold] and the works of German fairy tale writers Wilhelm Hauff [The False Prince] and the Brothers Grimm [The Land of the Thrush's Beard, Perinbaba], screenwriter Alex Koenigsmark and director Juraj Herz were inspired by the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of slippers that the Fairy of Fortune enchanted so that they would fulfill every human wish and thus bring people happiness. The filmmakers humorously transferred the plot from Copenhagen to old Prague.

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The story begins in 1984 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, few years before the end of Communist era. The band Pražský výběr (Prague's selection) has just received the news thier 5-year ban has expired and they are alowed to perform once again. This half fantasy half document about the band would draw the atmosphere of middle european late Communist era and the eufory of it's end.

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As the Khmer Rouge carves a path of death throughout the land, a Czech doctor falls in love with a Cambodian woman. Their relationship, though sorely strained by the war's horrors, produces a child. The doctor is separated from his family once Pol Pot assumes control.

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Tereza lives and works in Prague. She meets a handsome man, Tommie, speaking in a language incomprehensible to her. It seems that he is the manager of the Finnish ice hockey team. A love story starts to blossom. When the coach of the Czech ice hockey team tries to use Tereza to retrieve information about the strategy of the Finnish team, Tommie leaves Tereza. Will Tereza be able to clear up this misunderstanding?

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A Czech film about love and marital crisis as a work injury.

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Eleven disparate adolescents, gathered for a skiing camp at an isolated winter resort, find themselves preyed upon and set against one another by their three mysterious instructors.

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The Slippers of Happiness is another film made by the Slovak Film Production in co-production with West German companies based on classic world fairy tales. After Slovak folk tales [The Greatest Peck in the World, Salt Over Gold] and the works of German fairy tale writers Wilhelm Hauff [The False Prince] and the Brothers Grimm [The Land of the Thrush's Beard, Perinbaba], screenwriter Alex Koenigsmark and director Juraj Herz were inspired by the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of slippers that the Fairy of Fortune enchanted so that they would fulfill every human wish and thus bring people happiness. The filmmakers humorously transferred the plot from Copenhagen to old Prague.

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A darkly brilliant stop-motion adaptation of The Pied Piper of Hamelin about a plague of rats that punish townsfolk corrupt with greed. One of the most ambitious Czech animation projects of the 1980s, notable for its unusual dark art direction, innovative animation techniques and use of a fictitious language.

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A communist journalist from Prague is sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp.

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A boyish dispute over drums full of scared pigeons.

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The “Raging Reporter” Egon Erwin Kisch (1885-1948) was one of the most significant journalists of the 1920s and 30s. He wrote from a communist point of view, in language that sparkled with humor. Historic photographs and footage describe Kisch’s eventful journalistic and political life, which brought him to important cities including Berlin, Moscow, Sydney, and New York.

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This distinctive documentary portrait of Prague extolls the beauty, significance and spirit of the ancient city adopting modern way of life. The form and content of the film share a common underlining principle. The author doesn't simply list out the sequence of events, but rather approaches them in a broader context of their historic implications and circumstances. The content of the film covers a large period from the pagan times to these days. The facts are grouped under several general headings (paganry, the spread of Christianity, renaissance, baroq and modern times) with allusions to the modern life of Prague and Praguers that has its roots in those times.

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A comedy about Simon, an honest, clever confectioner. In practical life, the humble bachelor becomes an easy prey to his boss, his mother, and hordes of women eager to get married. The story incorporates well-tested methods of nearly all major periods in the history of film comedy: from a lumierish etude with the garden hose to a melancholic tramp to the menace of the streets Jacques Tati. Director Juraj Herz made a major contribution to the modest tradition of Slovak film comedy.

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A tragicomic story about Lady Poverty who, unmistakably and without any hesitation, catches one lazy fellow after another. However, she is helpless when she comes across a diligent and work-loving fellow. Poverty simply cannot be destroyed, but it can be defeated.

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The honest and a bit naive director of a variety agency, Jožin Petránek, sits on the qualification committee that judges entertainers and performers of all kinds. The man firmly rejects any favouritism. But at work and at home, he's in for nothing but trouble. The rejected "artists" protest, and Jožin's wife Anna would like to promote her friend's daughter into show business. His new secretary Zuzana starts to seduce him. Petranek finally succumbs to the French chansonnier Madelaine. But Zuzana calls Mrs. Petrankova and she drives her husband away from the table and the bed. Eventually, Jozhin loses his position as director and becomes an ordinary stage recruiter. Now the real showbiz hype is just beginning for him...

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Story of a high-schooler who fails to gain a place at university and necessarily finds herself having to take a job behind the counter at a buffet.

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